The Final Report: Attica Prison Riot
Former inmates, officials, and lawyers provide firsthand accounts of the 1971 prison uprising in New York state that resulted in the deaths of 29 prisoners and 10 hostages after a four-day stalemate. The film also looks at how the Attica tragedy changed policies in U.S. prisons. Monday, June 23, at 7 p.m., National Geographic Channel
Emile Norman—By His Own Design
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
When artist Emile Norman arrived in New York City in the 1940s, he hid his homosexuality. This award-winning profile shows how Norman’s work set trends everywhere from the windows of Bergdorf Goodman to Hollywood films—and how Norman found the confidence to come out as a gay man and create a new life for himself in Big Sur, California. Monday, June 23, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings
When I Knew
This funny and poignant documentary asks its subjects one question: When did you first know you were homosexual? The frank answers, from 16 men and women of diverse ages, reveal a complex range of emotions. The film was inspired by a book of the same title by Robert Trachtenberg. Wednesday, June 25, at 7:30 p.m., Cinemax
NOVA scienceNOW
This lively science show becomes a weekly summer series, with genial astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson returning as host. Segments include a visit to an abandoned mine to plumb the mysteries of “dark matter”; a look at how experiments on the memories of mice might shed light on Alzheimer’s disease; and a profile of professor Hany Farid, whose software detects manipulation of digital photos. Wednesday, June 25, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Resolved
Once a test of eloquence and persuasiveness, high school debate seems to have degenerated into a speed-talking competition. This documentary follows two debate teams whose contrasting tactics—one in the current infobabble mode, the other in a nontraditional conversation format—reflect the stark difference in their schools’ socioeconomic milieus. The climax comes at a high-stakes showdown. Sunday, June 29, at 11:30 a.m., HBO
Other highlights
Devil’s Playground
A look at “Rumspringa,” the brief period when Amish teenagers are allowed to explore the outside world. Wednesday, June 25, at 10 p.m., National Geographic Channel
The Tenth Circle
Kelly Preston stars in a made-for-TV adaptation of Jodi Picoult’s best-selling thriller. Saturday, June 28, at 9 p.m., Lifetime
In the Shadow of the Moon
Apollo crew members recall NASA’s lunar missions in this award-winning documentary. Sunday, June 29, at 9 p.m., Discovery
All listings are Eastern time.
Show of the week
Hard Times at Douglass High: A No Child Left Behind Report Card
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, which mandated standards in students’ reading and math scores, revealed stark rifts in American education. By 2007, one in four U.S. public schools faced sanctions, but schools in urban areas confront the biggest challenges. Ninth-graders start out four to five years behind their proper reading level, teachers are underqualified and overwhelmed, and students arrive late for class from splintered homes in poor neighborhoods. Oscar-winning filmmakers Alex and Susan Raymond spent a year shooting this vérité-style documentary at Baltimore’s Frederick Douglass High School, where—though staff and students struggle valiantly—the end of the year finds Thurgood Marshall’s alma mater at a fateful crossroads. Monday, June 23, at 9 p.m., HBO
Movies on TV this week
Monday, June 23
The Band Wagon (1953)
A fading movie dancer joins a troubled stage production in this funny, colorful musical featuring Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, and the song “That’s Entertainment.” 9:15 a.m., TCM
Tuesday
My Left Foot (1989)
Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker both won Oscars for this bio-drama about Christy Brown, who surmounted cerebral palsy to become a celebrated author. 9:05 p.m., IFC
Wednesday
Chocolat (2000)
In this hit romantic comedy, nominated for five Oscars, temptation comes to a bluenosed French village in the form of a chocolatier. Juliette Binoche stars. 8 p.m., Encore
Thursday
The Secret Life of Words (2005)
On a remote North Sea oil rig, a repressed young woman nurses a blinded worker. Sarah Polley (John Adams) and Tim Robbins star in the acclaimed drama. 7 p.m., Sundance
Friday
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)
A Eurasian doctor falls for a married American journalist in this romantic drama, which won Oscars for its music and costumes. With Jennifer Jones and William Holden. 8 p.m., FMC
Saturday
Waitress (2007)
The late Adrienne Shelly’s funny and affecting final film stars Keri Russell as a small-town waitress contending with a bad marriage and an unplanned pregnancy. 10 p.m., Cinemax
Sunday
Fellini: I’m a Born Liar (2003)
This portrait of Federico Fellini features interviews with Donald Sutherland, Terence Stamp, and other actors, as well as with the director himself. 8 p.m., Flix
